Sasheer Zamata Joins Saturday Night Live As New Cast Member

Saturday Night Live has hired Sasheer Zamata as a new cast member, following a search for a black female to join the cast. The news of Ms. Zamata’s hiring was first posted by the Deadline Hollywood website.

Zamata, who began performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater after moving to NYC in 2009, has performed on the FX show Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, as well as the Comedy Central offering Inside Amy Schumer.

Look for Zamata to make her Saturday Night Live debut on Saturday, Jan. 18th, the first live show of 2014. Drake will have hosting and performing duties for the show. Zamata is SNL’s first female black cast member since Maya Rudolph left the show in 2007.